


The Divide

by doggie015



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-05
Updated: 2015-02-05
Packaged: 2018-03-10 14:39:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 7,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3294107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doggie015/pseuds/doggie015
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anna has mysteriously vanished. Elsa tries to find out why but in the process she discovers a much darker secret that she must confront that not only threatens Arendelle but the rest of the world...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Absence

Elsa was worried. Anna was never usually gone for so long. Sometimes she would go on a day trip to a nearby town and end up staying the night there but even then she would normally send a message back saying that she would not be back until tomorrow. This time there was nothing, not a single word.

On a normal day Anna would be up at dawn to roam the town or explore beyond and then be back by noon for lunch and to spend the afternoon helping Elsa run the kingdom. She was still a princess and needed to know what to do in the event that she need to take charge. But today it was after sunset and there was still no sign of Anna. Elsa sent out a search party to search the castle and surrounding areas through the night as she went to bed. As she changed into her nightgown and crawled into her bed she wasn’t worried, she knew that Anna would not wander too far without letting someone know beforehand. She was sure that the search party would find her alive and well.

* * *

 

The next morning Elsa woke up expecting to see Anna sitting by her bedside but as she opened her eyes she found that she was the only person in the room. She changed into her normal dress and went for breakfast. The search party had been looking through the night around the castle and town and they could not find any sign of Anna. The search had moved to the areas outside the town but no reports of any sightings were coming in. It was like she just vanished into thin air. Elsa felt the air chill around her as she ordered the search continue until Anna is found. She decided to help and went out to search for Anna herself. Elsa knew that her sister loved chocolate so the first place she went to was the chocolate shop an hour’s ride west of the town, the search had not gotten there yet and she hoped that Anna had merely overindulged again and would be needing a lift home.

The shopkeeper was surprised that Elsa had shown up seemingly out of the blue as usually Anna was the one that went over there. However this time she hadn’t been there for the past week. The shopkeeper insisted that Elsa take some of their goods with her on the house as it was not often that any queen visited and they wanted to make a good impression. The shopkeeper seemed blissfully unaware of the turmoil that Elsa was going through.

* * *

 

Each chocolate felt as though it was trying to drag her through the ground as she asked at the nearby town. She had considered just dumping them somewhere on the way back to Arendelle but she couldn’t bring herself to do it, she didn’t want to let this one go. Despite the fact that nobody had seen anything of Anna she remained determined to find her sister but that determination was tempered with fatigue, she had spent most of the day looking for Anna and was growing weary. Elsa was distraught as she rode back to Arendelle with the sun setting as she pulled up at the castle stables. Questions that Elsa dreaded to even ask swirling around her mind each one like swords swiping at her heart, she would have started crying right there and then were it not for the fact that she was still a queen and had to at least act formal.

Once back at the castle itself she asked if the search party had found anything but the facial expression of the person she asked said it all. Elsa found herself choking back sobs as requested that she not be disturbed until high noon tomorrow as she needed to rest. The staff respected her wishes and remained silent as Elsa walked into her room, closed and locked the door then ran to her bed and lay face down, her pillow doing nothing to muffle the cries that couldn’t be held back anymore. Where had Anna gone? Was she even still alive? Elsa ended up crying herself to sleep, but it was not a peaceful one for later that night she was woken by a knock on the door and an all too familiar voice calling through the door.

“Elsa! You can’t run from this!"


	2. The Unexpected Visitor

No, it couldn't be…

Elsa opened the door to find Hans standing there. She was immediately reliving that moment as her room vanishes and is replaced with a howling blizzard of her own creation.

“Just take care of my sister!”

“Your sister? She returned from the mountain weak and cold, she said that you froze her heart!”

“No…”

“I tried to save her but it was too late! Her skin was ice, her hair turned white! Your sister is DEAD! Because of you!”

Elsa collapsed onto the ice sobbing as the blizzard suddenly stopped. She heard the sword draw, the running footsteps, Anna’s cry and that final breath. Elsa embraced her sister’s frozen form and let out her emotions. This time however Anna could not be thawed, no matter how hard Elsa tried she could not bring her sister back. After a long pause Kristoff walked up to Elsa and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Elsa…”

“NO! Anna can’t be gone!” Elsa launched into a fresh round of sobbing as Olaf started towards them with a look of both sadness and confusion on his face

“But… they said that love would thaw…”

* * *

 

It was at this point Elsa woke up. She looked out the window, it was already bright out. Normally Anna would have woken her up for Breakfast by now but she still had not returned. Elsa started a fresh round of sobbing, she was used to being lonely but had never felt this emptiness before. This only made her more determined to find Anna so that she could leave this feeling behind her like the cape that was undoubtedly still somewhere on the North Mountain.

_The North Mountain!_ How could she have been so blind to something right in front of her face! After her palm said a high-speed “hello” to her face she hurriedly left her room. Ever since that day she had found her sister there more times than she could count at her ice castle. She hastily got onto a horse at the stables and set off. Passing by Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post to make sure that Anna had not turned herself into a human prune in the Sauna she discovered that Anna had come past yesterday but that the shopkeeper had not seen her return. Elsa was expecting this but surprised herself with how relieved she was to not be confronted with “Big Summer Blowout!” upon entry. She had a slight chuckle to herself as she remembered the incident where those words took on a much more different meaning. It was very childish but maybe that’s why she laughs at it – she never really had a chance to be a kid… There was that emptiness again. Elsa left the trading post and got back on to her horse.

“Please be unhurt…” She set off once more to make the final push toward the mountain. She was so focused on finding Anna that she ignored the wolves that tried to turn her into a day meal. As her horse galloped ever closer to the mountain the emotional weight on her shoulders got heavier. She managed to shake some of it off as she tried to reassure herself that Anna will be fine. Further helped by an unknown sense that could almost be called intuition but ran deeper than that as the two sisters were connected by more than just bloodlines, ever since that day she had been somehow able to sense when her sister is near and she was sensing that now.

She arrived at the foot of the North Mountain to find Anna lying on the ground face up and not moving.


	3. The Reunion

Elsa cried out as she threw herself off the horse and ran over to Anna. She was relieved to hear her sister breathing normally and placed a hand on her shoulder. She instantly knew that something was very wrong.

“Hang on Anna” Elsa made a sled out of ice to carry Anna back to the castle. She carefully placed Anna onto it and set off back to the castle and made record time thanks to her powers carving a straight path out of ice that ran over the landscape and straight to the castle gates. She would normally be amazed by this but she was too busy trying to keep her turbulent emotions from spilling out to notice. On her arrival she let the path and sled melt as she ran Anna to the infirmary despite her vision being blurred by the tears streaming freely from her eyes. The nurse checked her pulse and found it to be normal, someone or something had knocked Anna out cold and left her on the mountain where she would almost certainly have died had she not been found today. Elsa was relieved and decided to let Anna rest while she went about her duties figuring that when Anna woke up she would find her eventually.

* * *

 

Elsa started getting concerned again when Anna didn’t show up to lunch, then dinner. She eventually decided that it would be best to appoint a caretaker king to handle her duties as she remained by Anna’s bedside waiting for her to wake up. Her eyes were starting to go red from all the crying that she had been doing as of late. Elsa even requested that she be able to have meals at Anna’s bedside as she wanted to be there until the end, whatever the outcome. She ended up falling asleep on a bed that the staff had bought in alongside the one Anna was still in.

* * *

 

The next day she woke up and looked over to Anna who was still breathing but remained asleep. She still didn’t want to leave Anna’s bedside because nothing was more important than making sure that whatever the outcome is, she would be the first to know. Elsa remained by Anna’s bedside watching the hours tick by as Anna made no progress towards either waking up or death. Seeing what the nurse has to do to keep her sister alive while she is unconscious almost made Elsa wish that she had left her sister on the foot of the North Mountain. They had to dissolve food in water or in some cases have Elsa pre-chew it and basically force it down her throat until it was swallowed on instinct, the other end of the process was not that great either with Anna being partially disrobed and covered with more bed linin that was basically an oversized nappy and needed to be frequently changed with each set requiring extensive washing before it could be used again. Elsa felt equally sorry for both her sister and the staff member that has to deal with… _that_! She made a mental note to double that person’s next pay packet when she got the chance.

The worst part was not knowing what would happen to Anna. Even if she does wake up will she be the same? Elsa found herself again choking back sobs as she quickly corrected that if to a when, she would not give up hope while her sister was still breathing. The second night by Anna’s side was not without incident as Elsa heard one of the staff members talk about putting Anna out of her misery. Said staff member was rapidly fired and reminded that they were lucky to not have been struck by a grieving Elsa either through magic or physical means or charged with high treason as Anna was still a member of the royal family.

* * *

 

That next day Kristoff and Olaf paid a visit to the infirmary after hearing about what had happened through a staff member as Elsa herself could barely speak without starting to cry again. It was a very silent visit as even Olaf’s normally bright and cheerful personality was subdued by the situation at hand. Kristoff put a hand on Elsa’s shoulder

“I am so sorry. “ Kristoff was interrupted as Elsa threw herself around him and started sobbing into his shoulder. He returned the embrace and patted Elsa’s back. “I’m here for you.”

“Why? Why did it have to be Anna?” – it was the question she had been asking herself for the past three days and she was thankful that she could finally ask it to someone else, that didn’t stop the tears though.

“Your guess is as good as mine.” The two stood there stuck in an embrace of mutual sadness for several minutes before Kristoff pulled away. “I am sorry I can’t stay, I have to get back to work.” And with that he walked out the door. Olaf soon followed.

“Hang in there Elsa…” Elsa was once again alone with nothing but her emotions to keep her company. Then she received word that she had another visitor coming in from the nearby valley.


	4. The Awakening

Pabbie rolled into the castle and straight to Elsa. He stood up and immediately answered Elsa’s unasked question. Elsa noticed that he had a bit of a habit of doing that

“The reason that Anna has not woken is because she has been cursed by magic that I have not seen before. I will do what I can to remove it but as I have no experience in dealing with this she may not be the same afterwards.”

“I don’t care what it takes, just get my sister awake!” Elsa had to choke back more sobs as she said those words and watched Pabbie work. She saw brief flashes of a hooded figure as the Trolls magic interacted with that from this unknown sorcerer.

Elsa was confused as to why anyone would do this to Anna, what was there to gain from this? Anna gave a low moan that snapped her back to reality – her sister was waking up! Elsa raced over to the bed and was hovering over Anna as she opened her eyes and groggily said

“Elsa? Is that you?” More tears, this time of Joy as Elsa watched Anna sit up. She immediately embraced her sister as all of the emotions of the past three days came out one last time. Anna returned the embrace as she comforted Elsa. “It’s alright, I am here for you!” Pabbie cleared his throat and spoke up

“Elsa, I have something that I need to tell you: While I was able to remove the curse it took me to the limit of my abilities and if this happens again I am afraid that no magic, no matter how powerful can save her next time. I will do what I can to find the person responsible but you must never let Anna out of your sight until the person is found. Do you understand?”

“Why?” Elsa asked

“Because I have that next time this happens it will take away your powers forever. The one that cast this curse was looking to tap the bond between you and your sister and now that they know what it is the next time they strike they will use that link to take your powers for themselves.”


	5. Revelations

Elsa was left speechless at the mere thought of losing… _herself_ … Anna could tell that her sister was close to tears again – the sudden chill was a dead giveaway. Anna started thinking aloud

“What do you want me to do? Tie myself to my sister?” Pabbie just shrugged

“That’s not such a bad idea. I have seen what caused this and where it is so I should not be too long – A couple of days at most.” With that Pabbie rolled off presumably to return to the Valley and deal with the sorcerer. As he rolled away Elsa quietly wished him good luck

* * *

 

Anna took Elsa back into her room and sent for a fairly long length of rope – she wanted to be safe and to reassure Elsa that she would not run off again. They sat down on Anna’s bed still in the embrace that Elsa had took her in when she woke up. She pulled away from Elsa and looked straight into her eyes as she started thinking about what to say. This whole thing was her fault and she wanted to tell her sister the truth

“Elsa, I have to tell you something… I wanted to explore the North Mountain, to see if your castle was still there. When I got there it was still there but it was not the same”

“How do you mean ‘Not the same’?”

“I mean, it wasn’t made of Ice, but of stone that was so black it was darker than the darkest of nights. The next thing I knew was waking up with you and that troll on my bedside. How long was I out?” Elsa had to choke back sobs as she answered

“Four days. I found you asleep on the foot of North Mountain face up, not moving but still breathing. I don’t know how you got there but I need to get there and face whatever this is.” At this point a servant arrived with a 10 metre length of rope. “Well, we need to.”

“No Elsa! You heard what the troll said, he will handle it! We don’t need to worry!” The staff member that bought the rope realized that this was a bad time and left the room, closing the door behind them. Elsa spoke as the staff member left the room

“I don’t trust him ever since that incident“

“What incident?” Elsa sighed as she thought of the words to use

“Do you remember when we used to play in the snow?”

“Yeah, but then one day we just… stopped…”

“That’s because it’s not as you remember it was. Those things all happened inside the castle.”

“But… how?”

“My powers.” Anna gasped as everything fell back into place.

“But I don’t understand… what does he have to do with any of this?”

“The day we stopped playing in the snow…” Elsa sighed and gave a light sob “It was because of me. I had accidentally struck you with the powers, he was able to fix you that time but he decided to remove all memory of my powers from you. To this day I cannot understand why!” Anna couldn’t understand either. It would have been better for all involved if those memories were not removed so why had they been? Anna took her sister in her arms as she started crying again. _When had Elsa become so emotional?_

* * *

 

Meanwhile Pabbie rolled towards the valley that he called home, he wanted to let his family know what he was doing. After a few emotional goodbyes were said he set off for the castle on the North Mountain. He knew that this sorcerer was more powerful than anything he had ever faced previously and wasn’t even sure if he could handle this.

All his mental preparation proved useless against the fireball that struck him as he rolled up the mountain. He was still conscious when a robed figure came up to him and said in a voice so deep it seemed to shake the earth

“I will let you live, but in exchange I need you to relay a message to Elsa.” The figure pulled back the hood and revealed an all too familiar face with red sideburns. “King Hans of the Southern Isles is to be given an audience with the Queen of Arendelle tomorrow night at their castle”.

 


	6. Flashback

Hans gave a small smile as he returned to his castle satisfied that he had scared that creature sufficiently to relay the message to Elsa. He sat down on his throne and thought about the plan he had just put in motion. While it had the best chance of working it was not guaranteed and there was a small chance that it would backfire and end with him dead. He was willing to take that chance as the alternative was him sitting on a different throne with Arendelle in his control. You have to take a big risk to get a big reward.

Pabbie was left speechless – this… _thing_ had just knocked the proverbial stuffing out of him. While it looked human he could tell that it was more than that, but there was no denying that it was POWERFUL! He had never seen such power from one being. He knew that he had no choice but to relay the message and a warning. He started rolling down the mountain with his mind racing as to how he could convey how dangerous this being really was and the question of how they had managed to get such power in the first place!

* * *

 

As he rolled to the castle gates he saw Anna and Elsa saddling up horses in the stable, they were already tied together and it was obvious that they were both serious about not leaving the other’s sight. Elsa saw Pabbie rolling in with burn marks over his body. It was fairly obvious that he was far worse for wear than when he left. She got Anna’s attention and waited alongside her sister as Pabbie stood up.

“Well, that was quick” Elsa remarked, already starting to feel the chaffing caused by the rope around her left wrist that tied her to her sister. Pabbie cleared his throat and started delivering the message

“I have a message from the north mountain. King Hans of t-“

“ _KING_ Hans!?” both Elsa and Anna had expressed their disbelief in such perfect unison that Anna had to fight back the urge to shout ‘JINX!’ – Now was not a good time

The troll cleared his throat and restarted the message

“King Hans of the Southern Isles is to be given an audience with the Queen and Princess of Arendelle tomorrow night.” Anna and Elsa exchanged worried and confused looks – How had his 12 older brothers not only set him free but also let him have the throne?

* * *

 

_2 months earlier_

* * *

 

Hans looked out over the ocean towards the Southern Isles. He never expected to be returning in the ship’s brig and was trying to come up with a story that would make him the victim and allow him to take Arendelle by force. He knew that the Duke of Weselton would be more than willing to help that cause. He had to have a quiet chuckle to himself – it really was an unfortunate name for a city. He was so distracted with his thoughts that he didn’t even notice that the sails were no longer catching any air and that the sea was as flat as the ice that Elsa had encapsulated the entire Fjord in just a few days ago. They had been becalmed.

Hans was torn from his thoughts when he saw a fire on the deck but then he dismissed it, it was probably just a smoke signal to the Southern Isles. Then he saw the fire spreading and realized that the ship had somehow caught fire. The rest of the crew was below deck so he had to raise the alarm.

“THERE’S A FIRE ON THE DECK!” Suddenly the entire crew was out on deck fighting the fire. On a ship made of wood and tar any fire was a big problem if it is not dealt with quickly. The fire wasn’t getting smaller. The ship captain gave the order to abandon ship and lifeboats were hastily lowered over the deck. The crew left the ship to burn itself out however in their haste they forgot about Hans who was still trapped in the brig. He knew that the fire would eventually reach him but he still had some time to find a way off the ship. He tested the outer wall by leaning on it, it gave slightly but not nearly enough to provide a way out. In his frustration he kicked the bars which promptly popped out of their fittings and fell almost comically to the deck, he had to lunge backwards to avoid being crushed by said bars.

Hans just sat there in disbelief for a few moments. He eventually thought that the heat from the fire must have melted whatever they used to hold those bars in place which was confirmed by what appeared to be tar dripping from the hole in the roof where the bars were. Hans was confused as to why he did not feel the heat from the fire even when it was burning so intensely and so close to him. He walked right up to the fire and did not feel any heat from it at all which led him to believe that he must be dreaming so he decided to make the most of it. He walked right into the centre of the fire and still did not feel a thing, but he did hear a strange voice in his head

“Go on, use it!” Hans knew what the voice meant and turned his attention to the lifeboats being hastily rowed towards the coast. Hans set them all ablaze as he thought to himself that this would make a great cover story. He heard wood cracking and turned to see the main mast falling towards him. He didn’t want to test even his dream self against falling objects just yet so he dived into the water to avoid the danger. The cold hit him like a cannonball and rapidly told him that this was no dream. Hans managed to warm the water around him up a bit which eased the discomfort and swam to the shore where a guard was waiting.

After Hans hit the shore he got changed out of his soaking clothes, into something a bit less waterlogged and held a meeting with his 12 other brothers. He was able to convince everyone that a mysterious assailant from Arendelle was committing acts of war against the Southern Isles. He then helped the story along with a miniature firestorm that left him the next in line for the throne and since the current king had been in the room at the time of the incident there was nobody alive that stood between him and the throne. The Southern Isles were his to lead and their army his to command. He did not know how he had been blessed with his fire abilities but he wasn't going to let them go to waste and mounted an expedition back to Arendelle leaving a caretaker king in charge – it was time for the ice queen to meet her match.

* * *

 

_One month later_

* * *

 

Hans looked over his combined armies at the camp he had set up on the north mountain. It was an impressive force but Arendelle was merely a side note, his prize was to be the Queen and he had no intention of letting her slip away. He excused himself to explore the north mountain, he had told the generals that he just wanted to go for a walk and clear his head but in reality he wanted to make sure that the castle was still there and unoccupied. He found the staircase and the castle still there but the ice was far blacker than he remembered. He drew his sword and went to enter the castle when he saw a cloaked figure pull the doors open and spoke to him with a voice that was too deep to determine male from female

“Hans, while your powers are impressive on their own, they are no match for Elsa’s.”

“How do you kn-“

“Know your name? I know everything about everyone.” Hans thought for a moment but his train of thought was promptly broken when the figure answered his unasked question

“Why do I want to help you? Well it’s fairly simple. I was sent down by the gods many centuries ago to eliminate the threat of magic spreading across the planet and threatening their dominance. I thought that I had succeeded but then Elsa started letting it go and drew my attention to her. At first I thought that I could just kill her here and end it once and for all but she was too powerful for me even then and I had to abandon the attack and wait for the right moment. When your ship caught fire that was no accident. The gods had decided that in order to neutralize the threat they needed an equal, they noticed you already had a grudge against Elsa and decided to help you on the way by giving you the means to counter her. But it wasn't enough, they gave me one final instruction.”

The figure dissolved into a cloud of smoke and shot itself into Hans’ chest. He doubled over as what was the figure merged with his body. At that moment he instantly understood everything, he was suddenly aware that his incursion did not go unnoticed and that an army was marching from Arendelle to mount a surprise attack against his troops, he also knew that they would succeed in their planned slaughter unless he did something about it. He decided to let Arendelle think that they had won, he had to get used to this new power he had before launching his attack.


	7. One man

_Present day_

 Elsa was the first to break the speechless stupor that the two sisters shared as she glared at Pabbie.

“You told me that you could handle it.”

“And yet here you are mounting up horses to follow me!” Pabbie replied “I must warn you though, If you plan to confront this thing you need to know that it is powerful and cannot be beaten easily” Both Anna and Elsa could see proof of that from the burns that Pabbie had all over his body.

“Do you need any help?” Anna said

“No, thank you.” Pabbie grunted and winced in pain “I’ve gone through worse and these marks will be gone by tomorrow. I need to rest so if you will excuse me I will be on my way.” Pabbie rolled back to the valley.

“Elsa, maybe we should see if he wants to negotiate.”

“Anna, after what he’s done to you and to me I don’t think that he wants to just talk things over!”

“No, you’re right. But what else can we do?”

“We can’t just sit there and let him take the throne!”

“I know, I know! But since that victory over the forces of the Southern Isles and Weselton he might be in a more talkative mood.”

“Wait, how do you know about that?”

“While I was doing paperwork I came across the report.”

“As impressed as I am that you actually read that, it doesn’t really help with our lack of a plan for when Hans arrives!”

“Elsa, we need time to think about this! Why don’t we just go back inside?” Elsa sighed

“Alright.” She waved over a staff member “I want the castle put on high alert effective immediately for the arrival of King Hans of the Southern Isles tomorrow night and I want bodyguards for both Anna and I all day and night until further notice.” The staff member nodded and ran off. Almost immediately the castle bells rang and guards started pouring out of the Barracks taking up positions around the castle and establishing patrol routes. A dull thud was heard throughout the castle as the gates slammed shut.

“You said that we would never close them again!”

“At the time that was the case, however with Hans coming here tomorrow night and what Pabbie said about him I am afraid I have to do this.”

“But why? One man is not worth all of this!”

“One man would not allow two armies to be sacrificed and then just expect to waltz in here like he owns the place! Speaking of which, we really need to get inside.”

Anna folded her arms and grunted as Elsa dragged her inside. She didn’t want to untie the rope until all of this was dealt with.

* * *

 

Hans was confused - he hadn’t foreseen this happening! No matter how hard he tried he simply could not picture what would happen anymore. Why was this happening to him now? The answers quickly came from the same people that had sent that figure that merged with him – his power was not limitless and certainly not permanent, once Elsa was dealt with he would have his powers taken from him. Hans was going to miss them but at the end of the day as a servant of the gods he is in their chains and he had no escape, he had to complete his mission or die trying. He thought about abandoning the plan entirely and waiting for Elsa to die of natural causes.

Suddenly Hans found himself in a room that appeared to be made of solidified clouds with an ethereal figure standing before him. The voice was the same as the figure that was a part of him but it was so heavily backlit that it was impossible to tell if it even had a face.

“You must complete the cleansing as soon as possible. If you fail then the gods themselves will intervene and there will be innocent casualties, they are ruthless and will show no mercy.” Hans was back on his throne at the castle on the North Mountain as the figure spoke again “You are the arm of the gods and your powers are the blade. You must not fail!”


	8. True Intentions

Elsa and Anna headed back into the castle and sat down on Elsa’s bed. Several hours passed and they eventually came to the conclusion that Hans must be kept under armed guard at all times while in the castle. If he was to attack then it would be an act of war which would result in him being executed.

“Elsa, you can’t do this!”

“Anna, what choice do I have?”

“Can’t you just talk to him?”

“You saw what he did to that troll!”

“That doesn’t mean he will do that to anyone else!”

“After he tried to kill both of us last time he was here I seriously doubt that!”

“Elsa! Just listen to me for once!”

“Anna, stop!”

“No! I have had enough of you still shutting me out!”

“You think this hasn’t been difficult for me as well?”

“All you had to do was let me in! I couldn’t do anything!” Anna broke down into sobs and buried her head in her hands “I just got you back and I don’t want to lose you again.” Elsa put a hand on Anna’s back, pulling her into an embrace.

“Don’t worry Anna. I will do my best to make sure that nothing happens to me.”

“That’s not enough. I want you to promise me that you will always be here for me.”

“I am sorry Anna but you know that I can’t do that.”

“Then at least _try_ to.”

“That I can promise.” Anna threw herself into Elsa’s embrace as she continued sobbing. A staff member came in through the door.

“Is everything alright?”

“We need some chocolate in here.”

“Right away your majesty.” The staff member hurried off as Anna’s sobbing started to slow.

“I promise that I will do my best to stay here for you”

“Thank you Elsa.” Anna suddenly stopped sobbing “Wait… did you say chocolate?”

“Yeah, I always keep some in stock for special occasions or events like this.” Anna hugged Elsa tighter.

“Thank you!”

“Can’t... breathe.”

“Sorry!” Elsa gasped for air as Anna released herself from the embrace

“How did you get so strong?”

“I don’t know. It just kind of happened.”

“Well please don’t do that again!”

“Alright, alright I won’t”

“Thank you.” At this point a staff member came in with a tray full of assorted chocolate, set the tray down on the bedside table and left. Anna leapt for the tray straight away and Elsa gave a tug on the rope “Could you grab some for me while you are there?”

“Yeah, yeah. I will.”

* * *

 

Hans looked upon the events occurring with sadness. He didn’t know why he had decided to observe Elsa at that time but after seeing Anna so distraught at the mere thought of losing her sister made him lose his will to carry out his mission. Nothing was worth causing so much misery to anyone.

“I want no further part in this.” He doubled over in pain as the figure spoke to him once more.

“You have no say in the matter.” Hans became an observer in his own body as the figure took control. “The plan shall be executed as designed. You have done well to set it in motion but now your usefulness has ended. Once the plan is done I shall return you to your body but until then I will maintain complete control.”

“No! Let me out!”

“Not until this is resolved.” Hans had no options now – the figure had taken him over completely and planned to show no mercy.

Elsa and Anna were unaware of the drama unfolding on the North Mountain as they continued to work out what to do when Hans arrives.


	9. Arrival

A firestorm appeared on the north mountain. Hans could only watch as the figure flexed its muscles. Power flowed through his body like a raging rapid. The firestorm drew Elsa and Anna’s eyes to the window.

“Whoa…”

“Anna, I think you need to get somewhere safe.”

“Why?”

“It seems that our guest is a bit early.” The magic radiated from the mountain as Elsa cut the rope that bound the two sisters together. The firestorm started to move down the mountain and towards the castle. “Get to the safe room!” Anna ran down to the safe room that was only accessible via a secret passage that went under the castle dungeon. Meanwhile Elsa made her way to the castle gates. The citizens scrambled to avoid the firestorm. It stopped at the gates and started to dissipate. The guards caught a glimpse of the figure at the centre of the storm. It appeared to be Hans and a crossbow bolt was fired towards him. It was vaporised in mid-air by a plume of flame which then proceeded to engulf the guard that fired it. He was reduced to a pile of ash before he even had a chance to scream.

“You are to send Queen Elsa out here at once.” The figure demanded. Elsa heard the instruction and stepped outside the walls. She had seen the incineration first hand and knew exactly what Hans – or the thing that used to be Hans – was capable of. “Well, that was quick.”

“What do you want?” Elsa asked

“Your magic poses a threat. I am here to correct that.” The figure conjured a sword of pure flame.

“Can’t I talk with them first?”

“They don’t talk.”

“Very well.” Elsa conjured a sword and shield of ice. She had no fighting experience but was hoping to be able to use her powers to her advantage. She knew that the odds were against her. She wished that she had a chance to say a proper goodbye to Anna but she would still do her best to stay alive. The figure laughed.

“Is that really the best you can do?” The figure then charged at Elsa. She used her powers to deflect the blow.

“Even our most inexperienced knights know that is a very dumb thing to do.” The figure took another swipe. Elsa dodged it. The figure kept attacking. Elsa was able to parry every blow. The figure backed away again.

“You time ends now!” The firestorm restarted around the figure. Balls of fire erupted towards Elsa. She was able to deflect them with ice but it was not easy. She sent a barrage of ice into the firestorm. It turned into steam before it even entered. The figure retaliated by sending a constant stream of fire towards Elsa. She was barely able to block it. The figure was powerful but surprisingly inexperienced. Elsa knew that she could win but it would not be easy.


	10. Fire and Ice

Elsa dodged another fireball. She launched more ice towards the centre of the storm. Hoping that something would happen.

The firestorm stopped. The figure was on its knees.

“Get out of my head!” it cried.

The figure jerked violently. Their hands held against their head.

“Hit me!” Hans cried out. Elsa sent a blast of ice straight through his heart. Smoke started billowing from Hans’ body and hurtling skyward.

Hans was lying face up in a circle of charred grass. The ice was already starting to freeze his body. Elsa walked up to him.

“Why did you do it?”

“Elsa, that thing was not going to give up any other way.”

“Do you still have the powers?”

“No, they left with that thing.”

“Elsa!” Anna called from the castle gate.

“Anna, I told you to stay in the safe room!”

“I couldn’t just sit here while you took on that thing!”

“It’s all over now Anna.”

“Why is Hans laying there like that?” Anna asked

“I was at the centre of that firestorm.”

“What?”

“Anna, it wasn’t him controlling his body at the time.” Elsa said

“Was that what that puff of smoke was?”

“Yes.”

Anna and Elsa looked over Hans as he started to freeze over. He bought his arm up towards Elsa’s heart. One last deception. He fired a bolt of fire straight through her heart and froze.

“Elsa!” Anna gasped as Elsa doubled over. She ran over and embraced Elsa as smoke started to rise from her body. “No.” Anna started to sob. There was a sudden change. The smoke stopped as quickly as it started.

“I’m fine, Anna.” Anna allowed Elsa to stand up then hugged her again.

“I guess this makes us even now?” Anna asked.

“I guess so.” Elsa replied. There was a round of applause from the town as the queen and princess made their way back into the castle.


	11. Harness

Anna and Elsa were back in Elsa’s room sitting on the bed.

“You scared me for a moment there.” Anna said

“I scared myself for a moment there. It wasn’t until you embraced me that I was sure I would survive.”

“So basically I saved your life.”

“Again. You seem to be doing that a lot lately.”

“I don’t want to have to do it a third time.”

“Agreed.”

“So what’s the story with that flame of yours?”

“I don’t really know. I think I might be able to use it if need be.”

“How do you mean?”

“I’ll show you.”

Elsa took Anna’s hand and led her to the nearest fireplace. Elsa created a channel of ice within her body going from her heart to her hand which she stretched out towards the fireplace. A brief pulse of fire flowed though it and out of her hand lighting the fireplace straight away.

“Whoa.”

“Yeah, this is going to take some getting used to.”

“Just remember to keep a tight lid on it.”

“I will.” They returned to Elsa’s room and sat down on the bed.

“At least I know that I won’t be losing you again in a hurry.” Anna said

“What do you mean?”

“You have fire and ice at your command. Anyone who crosses you is going to be regretting it.”

“Anna, you know that I am not the type to rule through fear.”

“True. But not everyone will see it that way.”

“I know and I will try to be lenient to them, but if they try to hurt you-“ Elsa moved the flame to the palm of her left hand “They’ll have to deal with me.” The flame moved back into Elsa’s heart. Anna embraced her again.

“All I care about is that I have you.” Elsa returned the embrace.

“Same here.”

**The end.**


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